ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Still no response from Zaldy Co, says Speaker Dy

Still no response from Zaldy Co, says Speaker Dy

Published Sep 22, 2025 02:16 pm

At A Glance

  • The House of Representatives is still waiting on the response of Ako Bicol Party-list Rep. Zaldy Co, whose travel clearance was rescinded last week.
House Speaker Faustino "Bojie" Dy II (left), Ako Bicol Party-list Rep. Zaldy Co (MANILA BULLETIN, PPAB)
House Speaker Faustino "Bojie" Dy II (left), Ako Bicol Party-list Rep. Zaldy Co (MANILA BULLETIN, PPAB)


The House of Representatives is still waiting on the response of Ako Bicol Party-list Rep. Zaldy Co, whose travel clearance was rescinded last week.
Thus, said Speaker Faustino "Bojie" Dy III, who on Monday, Sept. 22 ensured that the leadership would respond accordingly to the issue involving the controversial congressman.
"Wala pa [response] sa ngayon, but siguro antayin natin. Tutal binigyan naman natin siya ng sampung araw para malaman natin kung ano yung magiging kasagutan ni Congressman Zaldy Co," Dy said in a chance interview.
(So far he has no response, but let's wait for it. Anyway, we gave Congressman Zaldy Co 10 days to give an answer.)
Co was the chairman of the Committee on Appropriations in the previous 19th Congress. The national budget during the final year of the 19th Congress--the P6.352-trillion 2025 General Appropriations Act (GAA)--was allegedly rife with "insertions".
Ako Bicol Party-list Rep. Alfredo Garbin Jr. told reporters earlier this month that Co had a heart ailment and was receiving treatment in the United States (US).
In a letter dated Sept. 18, 2025, Dy informed Co that "your existing travel clearance for your personal trip is hereby revoked effective immediately". He said the revocation was "in the paramount interest of the public and due to the existence of pressing national matters requiring your physical presence".
“In the exigency of service, you are hereby directed to return to the Philippines within ten (10) calendar days from your receipt of this notice," Dy added.
Asked if the House leadership would push for an ethics complaint against Co if he doesn't come home, Dy said they will talk about it.
"Siguro pag-uusapan natin, pag uusapan ng leadership, especially yung chair ng ethics kung ano pa yung pwedeng gawin para matiyak natin na makauwi si Congressman Zaldy Co," said the Isabela 6th district congressman.
(Perhaps we can talk about it, the leadership will talk about it, especially with the chairman of the ethics panel, as to what can be done to ensure Congressman Zaldy's Co's return to the country.)
4Ps Party-list Rep. JC Abalos chairs the Committee on Ethics and Privileges in the current 20th Congress.
ADVERTISEMENT
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1561_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1562_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1563_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}

{{ articles_filter_1564_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.mb-article-details { position: relative; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview, .mb-article-details .article-body-summary{ font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; font-family: "Libre Caslon Text", serif; color: #000; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview iframe , .mb-article-details .article-body-summary iframe{ width: 100%; margin: auto; } .read-more-background { background: linear-gradient(180deg, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0) 13.75%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0.8) 30.79%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000) 72.5%); position: absolute; height: 200px; width: 100%; bottom: 0; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; padding: 0; } .read-more-background a{ color: #000; } .read-more-btn { padding: 17px 45px; font-family: Inter; font-weight: 700; font-size: 18px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; border: 1px solid black; background-color: white; } .hidden { display: none; }
function initializeAllSwipers() { // Get all hidden inputs with cms_article_id document.querySelectorAll('[id^="cms_article_id_"]').forEach(function (input) { const cmsArticleId = input.value; const articleSelector = '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .body_images'; const swiperElement = document.querySelector(articleSelector); if (swiperElement && !swiperElement.classList.contains('swiper-initialized')) { new Swiper(articleSelector, { loop: true, pagination: false, navigation: { nextEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-next', prevEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-prev', }, }); } }); } setTimeout(initializeAllSwipers, 3000); const intersectionObserver = new IntersectionObserver( (entries) => { entries.forEach((entry) => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { const newUrl = entry.target.getAttribute("data-url"); if (newUrl) { history.pushState(null, null, newUrl); let article = entry.target; // Extract metadata const author = article.querySelector('.author-section').textContent.replace('By', '').trim(); const section = article.querySelector('.section-info ').textContent.replace(' ', ' '); const title = article.querySelector('.article-title h1').textContent; // Parse URL for Chartbeat path format const parsedUrl = new URL(newUrl, window.location.origin); const cleanUrl = parsedUrl.host + parsedUrl.pathname; // Update Chartbeat configuration if (typeof window._sf_async_config !== 'undefined') { window._sf_async_config.path = cleanUrl; window._sf_async_config.sections = section; window._sf_async_config.authors = author; } // Track virtual page view with Chartbeat if (typeof pSUPERFLY !== 'undefined' && typeof pSUPERFLY.virtualPage === 'function') { try { pSUPERFLY.virtualPage({ path: cleanUrl, title: title, sections: section, authors: author }); } catch (error) { console.error('ping error', error); } } // Optional: Update document title if (title && title !== document.title) { document.title = title; } } } }); }, { threshold: 0.1 } ); function showArticleBody(button) { const article = button.closest("article"); const summary = article.querySelector(".article-body-summary"); const body = article.querySelector(".article-body-preview"); const readMoreSection = article.querySelector(".read-more-background"); // Hide summary and read-more section summary.style.display = "none"; readMoreSection.style.display = "none"; // Show the full article body body.classList.remove("hidden"); } document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { let loadCount = 0; // Track how many times articles are loaded const offset = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]; // Offset values const currentUrl = window.location.pathname.substring(1); let isLoading = false; // Prevent multiple calls if (!currentUrl) { console.log("Current URL is invalid."); return; } const sentinel = document.getElementById("load-more-sentinel"); if (!sentinel) { console.log("Sentinel element not found."); return; } function isSentinelVisible() { const rect = sentinel.getBoundingClientRect(); return ( rect.top < window.innerHeight && rect.bottom >= 0 ); } function onScroll() { if (isLoading) return; if (isSentinelVisible()) { if (loadCount >= offset.length) { console.log("Maximum load attempts reached."); window.removeEventListener("scroll", onScroll); return; } isLoading = true; const currentOffset = offset[loadCount]; window.loadMoreItems().then(() => { let article = document.querySelector('#widget_1690 > div:nth-last-of-type(2) article'); intersectionObserver.observe(article) loadCount++; }).catch(error => { console.error("Error loading more items:", error); }).finally(() => { isLoading = false; }); } } window.addEventListener("scroll", onScroll); });
Join Our Newsletters

Sign up by email to receive news.

© 2025 Manila Bulletin The Nation's Leading Newspaper. All Rights Reserved.